How do you become a general contractor in Virginia?

Pick your class (A, B or C) from your typical job size and yearly volume. Pick your classification, such as RBC, CBC or the HIC specialty. Name a qualified individual with enough experience who passes the board exam. The rest of the steps are on this page.

Do you need a general contractor license in Virginia?

Yes. Virginia requires a state contractor license from the Board for Contractors for any job over $1,000. The class (A, B or C) depends on job size and yearly volume.

How much experience does Virginia require?

The qualified individual needs 1 year of experience for Class C, 3 years for Class B and 5 years for Class A, in the classification.

How much do general contractors make in Virginia?

The median was $57.26 an hour, or $119,110 a year, in May 2025, from the BLS wage survey. The national median was $55.28.

Who runs apprenticeships in Virginia?

Virginia's State Apprenticeship Agency registers and oversees programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor. Programs themselves are sponsored by employers, unions and trade groups.

How to Become a General Contractor in Virginia: Steps, License and Pay

The short version for Virginia

Virginia requires a state contractor license from the Board for Contractors for any job over $1,000.
The qualified individual needs 1 year of experience for Class C, 3 years for Class B and 5 years for Class A, in the classification.
Plan for two exams: the trade exam and a business and law exam.
Pay runs from about $38.43 an hour for the lowest-paid tenth of general contractors to $88.45 for the top tenth.
Jobs are projected to grow 8.2% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 4.5% projected nationally.

The path in Virginia, step by step

Virginia licenses general contractor work at the state level through the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

Pick your class (A, B or C) from your typical job size and yearly volume.
Pick your classification, such as RBC, CBC or the HIC specialty.
Name a qualified individual with enough experience who passes the board exam.
Have a member of management finish the 8-hour basic business course. Class A and B also need a designated employee who passes the board exam.
For Class A or B, show the required net worth or post a $50,000 bond.
Apply to the Board for Contractors and pay the license fee plus the $25 Recovery Fund assessment.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: general contractor license in Virginia.

Finding an apprenticeship in Virginia

Virginia runs Registered Apprenticeship through its own State Apprenticeship Agency, recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor to register and oversee programs there. Its staff are state employees, and it may use the federal paperwork or forms of its own. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Virginia State Apprenticeship Agency as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. New construction managers are usually hired as assistants and work under an experienced manager for up to a year, sometimes longer.

License levels and exams in Virginia

The license to aim for: Contractor license, Class A, B or C, with RBC (residential) or CBC (commercial) classification.

Trade exam. Yes. The qualified individual must pass a board-approved exam for the classification where no other license is a prerequisite.

Business exam. Class A and B need a designated employee who passes a board exam. All new licenses need 8 hours of pre-license basic business education by a member of management.

Keeping it. Every two years, from the last day of the month the license was issued.

Coming from another state. The board lists exam waivers for North Carolina residential (RBC) and commercial (CBC) building contractors, and a waiver of the Virginia law exams for Ohio business and law exam holders. Ask the board for the terms.

License	What it covers
Class C	Single jobs over $1,000 and under $30,000, under $250,000 a year.
Class B	Single jobs of $30,000 to under $150,000, or $250,000 to under $1 million a year.
Class A	Single jobs of $150,000 or more, or $1 million or more a year.
RBC	Residential building: build, remodel, repair or demolish homes and townhouses.
CBC	Commercial building: commercial and industrial structures.
HIC	Home improvement specialty: repairs or improvements to homes and townhouses and structures attached to them.

What the Virginia license costs

The fees the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

Fee	Amount
Class C initial license	$235
Class B initial license	$380
Class A initial license	$400
Recovery Fund assessment, initial	$25
Renewal, Class C / B / A	$220 / $260 / $270
Recovery Fund assessment, renewal	$30

What general contractors earn in Virginia

The median general contractor in Virginia earned $57.26 an hour in May 2025, 17th of 51 states, with 7,290 on payrolls. The national median was $55.28.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of general contractors in Virginia earned under $46.34 an hour and a tenth under $38.43. At the top, a quarter earned over $73.66 and a tenth over $88.45.

Pay level	Hourly	Yearly
10th percentile	$38.43	$79,940
25th percentile	$46.34	$96,390
Median	$57.26	$119,110
75th percentile	$73.66	$153,220
90th percentile	$88.45	$183,980

BLS has no separate wage figure for general contractors. These are its numbers for construction managers, the group BLS files general contractors under. They count managers on a payroll, so owners who run their own contracting business are not in them. Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: general contractor salary in Virginia.

Jobs ahead in Virginia

Virginia's labor market office projects jobs for general contractors growing from 10,040 in 2022 to 10,860 in 2032, a change of 8.2%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 820 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 8.2% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 4.5% projected nationally, ranking 36th of the 49 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group construction managers.

Starting your own general contractor business in Virginia

To contract on your own in Virginia, the license is the Contractor license, Class A, B or C, with RBC (residential) or CBC (commercial) classification.

Bond. Class A: $45,000 net worth or a $50,000 surety bond. Class B: $15,000 net worth or a $50,000 surety bond. No net worth requirement is listed for Class C.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Virginia median of $57.26 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $171.15 per billable hour. Try your own in the labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start a general contracting business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.

Where this comes from

The license steps, fees and rules are from the official pages below, read on the date shown. Pay is the BLS May 2025 state estimate, the job outlook is Virginia's own long-term projection, and the apprenticeship details are from the U.S. Department of Labor. A detail an official page did not confirm is left out.

Training, schools and certifications for every state: how to become a general contractor.

How to become a general contractor in Virginia